Have a spooky, sustainable Halloween

Your Challenge

This challenge is all about making your Halloween as sustainable as possible – from costumes to decorations, and especially your pumpkin.

Pumpkin pieces -This year, instead of carving a pumpkin, filling it with wax and then leaving it to rot, try decorating the outside. Use pens and paints, or even stick pins in it and tie beads or ribbons to the pins. This leaves the flesh of the pumpkin perfectly safe to eat once it’s carved up, after you’ve used it as a decoration. If you have to carve your pumpkin, carve as much flesh out of it as possible and use this to make soup, roast it with potatoes, or turn it into puddings.
Dress for less - If you’re dressing up this Halloween, get creative and try making your costume from things you already have. A bedsheet turns into a wizard robe or a ghost; stuffing several pairs of tights can create spider legs; and old clothes full of holes make an easy zombie. If making stuff isn’t for you, shop second-hand for your outfit to avoid increasing the global demand for costumes made from disposable plastic.
Bee decorative - If you’re decorating for the season, avoid single-use plastics by making decorations using paper, card and other recycling items like glass jars. Beeswax candles not only create a spooky ambience, but they’re also reusable all year round, and help you switch off the lights to save energy.
Get active - Halloween is the perfect time to get out in nature for an autumnal walk to notice the changing of the season. Watch the leaves fall, notice the colours turning from green to brown, and keep an eye out for different types of mushroom and fungus.

Why you're doing this

Halloween can be a scarily wasteful time of year. Every year, an estimated 22 million pumpkins are wasted instead of being eaten.^[1] Over 83% of costumes available to buy for Halloween are made of plastic,^[2] often worn once and then thrown away. Plastic comes from fossil fuels, emitting greenhouse gases when produced and contributing to climate change. As these plastics are not designed to last, they often tear easily and end up in the bin. Decorations and sweet wrappers also contribute to over 2,000 tonnes of plastic being thrown away every Halloween.^[1] All this waste either sits in landfill or gets burned, releasing more emissions into the atmosphere.

Getting out in nature has proven benefits to our wellbeing. Research from WWF ^[2]reveals that spending just 20 minutes a day in nature can ease anxiety and stress, while sparking positive emotions.

How you'll make a difference

By thinking about sustainability, we can all take care not to contribute to the terrifying problem of waste on our planet, and help to preserve habitats and species around the world by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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